Private show way to salute vets

Saturday

May 25, 2013 at 12:01 AMMay 25, 2013 at 1:00 AM

Andrew Denney

For the 25th annual Memorial Day Weekend Salute to Veterans celebration, veterans who live in area managed care facilities got first dibs on watching aircraft that will be featured in the celebration's air show take to the skies and try out a few maneuvers.

Among the group of veterans brought in yesterday morning to Columbia Regional Airport to see the show were Mexico Veterans Home residents Bruce Wilson, an Air Force veteran, and Jerry Green, a Navy veteran, who both served in the Vietnam War.

After they watched a P-51 Mustang, from the World War II and Korean War era, take a few loops in the sky, Wilson and Green were telling a Tribune reporter that they enjoyed the show when retired Marine Brig. Gen. Denis Shortal approached the men, extended a hand and thanked them for their service.

Wilson, who said he had worked in the payload area of a B-52 Stratofortress during his time in Vietnam, began to cry after Shortal extended his thanks. Shortal, a University of Missouri graduate and Georgia resident who came to Columbia for the celebration, said he — like many others on Memorial Day weekend — makes it a point to extend his gratitude to veterans when he sees them.

Memorial Day weekend is a time to hang out with friends and family, take in a barbecue or enjoy a beverage or two, Shortal said. Without veterans sacrificing life and limb in overseas conflicts, he said, those are experiences that Americans might not be able to enjoy.

"They didn't fight for us to sit around and mope," Shortal said. "They fought so you and I can enjoy our freedom."

Also among the crowd yesterday morning was Glen Schley, an 88-year-old Navy veteran and Kansas City resident who managed to get stationed in New Mexico during World War II.

"I would have got my butt blown off had I not," he said.

Schley is still a licensed pilot and flight instructor and showed a reporter the cards to prove it. He flies a Vultee BT-13 Valiant, which was parked on the tarmac yesterday morning. He said compared to modern aircraft, it is somewhat of a physical challenge to fly.

"You don't give up until you get it parked," Schley said.

The air show is 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. today and tomorrow.

Admission and parking are free, and shuttle buses to the event are available at Hearnes Center and at Jefferson City Memorial Airport. The cost is $3 for a round-trip.

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